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Author Biography
Steven R. Barnett is Executive Director at the Irvington Historical Society.
Steve Barnett was raised in Irvington. Steve attended School #57, Howe High School (’63), and received a degree from Purdue University (’70). He served in the Indiana National Guard. After a brief hiatus from Irvington, Steve returned to his home town in 1977 with his wife Sue so their three children could grow up in a family friendly environment.
Steve had the good fortune of working with U. S. Representative Andy Jacobs, Jr. and U. S. Representative Julia Carson in the Indianapolis Congressional District Office helping constituents.
After his retirement, Steve became the executive director of the Irvington Historical Society and curator of the Bona Thompson Memorial Center until 2025. Steve was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by Gov. Wallace G. Wilkinson for service to veterans, and he was appointed a Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Joseph Kernan for service to Indiana. In 2016, Steve was named Marion County Historian.
Steven R. Barnett’s Story Archive
Thomas Carr Howe High School
Thomas Carr Howe High School opened its doors to its first class of students in the fall of 1938, marking the culmination of years of struggle by Irvington and east side citizens to secure a secondary school. Prior to being annexed by the city of Indianapolis in 1902, the town … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 23-29
From The Indianapolis Star, Friday, February 29, 1924: The shrill blast of the referee’s whistle will be the signal today for the start of Indiana’s great basketball derby. In fifty-two playing centers the lithe forms of scores of sterling athletes, trained to the minute after weeks of preparation and careful … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 16-22
From The Indianapolis Times, Monday, February 18, 1924: A suit seeking to prevent the Indianapolis board of school commissioners from building a separate high school for colored children was filed today in Superior Court, Room 5, by Archie Greathouse, an Indiana Avenue businessman and civic leader. The school board plans … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 9-15
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, February 14, 1924: Before a crowded Cadle Tabernacle last night, Hiram Evans, Ku Klux Klan emperor, urged creation of a cabinet level U. S. department of education, attacked the Catholic Church as an enemy of the public school system, and called for strict immigration laws. … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 2-8
From The Indianapolis News, Saturday, February 2, 1924: Julia Landers, long active in Marion County political affairs, announced her candidacy for the Democratic Congressional nomination to represent the 7th District today. “I will work in Congress for the child labor amendment because children of America ought to have equality of … Read More